With two days left in the campaign, supporters of amending Latvia’s constitution to make Russian the second official language are about 11,000 signatures short of meeting their target, according to new data released by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

The campaign began Nov. 1 and as of Nov. 28 a total of 130,678 signatures have been recorded in the citizen initiative, the commission announced in a Nov. 29 press release. Added to the total will be 12,533 signatures submitted on a petition that began the initiative.

In all, supporters need 154,379 signatures—representing 10 percent of the eligible voters in the last parliamentary election—to get the proposed amendments before the Saeima. As of Nov. 28, they have nearly 93 percent of the total.

Observers commenting in Latvian media note that if the signature campaign is successful, the proposed legislation is likely to be defeated in the Saeima. Under the constitution, that would trigger a national referendum on the language issue.

Supporters of the measure, led by the pro-Russian organization “Dzimtā valoda,” want to amend five paragraphs in the constitution to give Russian equal status to Latvian. Under the constitution’s current language, Latvian is the only official language.

The signature campaign continues through Nov. 30 at local government offices in Latvia and at 39 embassies and consulates outside the homeland. A list of the locations abroad is available from the Central Election Commission’s website, www.cvk.lv.

The Central Election Commission is to begin verifying the signatures on Dec. 1.

An initiative that could make Russian an official language in Latvia now has more than half the signatures needed to get the parliament to consider amending the country’s constitution, according to figures compiled by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

However, supporters have just one more week to get the total of 154,379 voters—10 percent of all those eligible—they need to get proposed legislation before the Saeima. The deadline for gathering signatures is Nov. 30.

From Nov. 1-21, according to the election commission, a total of 78,279 eligible voters had signed on to the initiative. Combined with the 12,533 who put their names on a petition to begin the process, supporters now have nearly 59 percent of the total required.

Under the constitution, Latvian is the country’s only official language. The “Dzimtā valoda” (Native Language) group is pushing to change five sections of the constitution to give Russian equal status. An estimated 27.4 percent of Latvia’s population is ethnic Russian, according to the Central Statistical Bureau, while ethnic Latvians account for 59.5 percent.

The initiative got a boost when Rīga Mayor Nils Ušakovs, who is an ethnic Russian, announced that he had signed the initiative. He has said that his political party, the center-left Harmony Centre (Saskaņas centrs) maintains its support for Latvian as the only state language. However, during a party congress on Nov. 17 he encouraged members to also sign the initiative, according to media reports.

If the initiative succeeds, the Saeima will have to consider the proposed changes to the constitution. However, it is expected the legislation would be defeated, which would then lead to a national referendum.

Outside of Latvia, voters interested in adding their signature to the initiative may do so at one of 39 embassies and consulates. A list of the locations abroad is available from the Central Election Commission’s website, www.cvk.lv.

More than 39,000 registered voters so far have signed on to an initiative to make Russian the second official language of Latvia, according to results released by the Central Election Commission in Rīga.

Through Nov. 14, a total of 39,258 voters in Latvia had given their support to the proposed constitutional amendment. At least 103 more had signed on to the initiative abroad, although data were not available from six of 39 embassies or consulates, election commission spokeswoman Kristīne Bērziņa told Latvians Online.

That brings the total number of signatures to at least 51,894, a figure that includes 12,533 signatures from the petition that started the initiative. Supporters of the constitutional amendment need at least 10 percent of the eligible voters in the last parliamentary election—a total of 154,379 persons—to sign on by Nov. 30. With two weeks to go, they are more than 33 percent of the way to their goal.

Latvian media reports suggest the initiative received a boost when popular Rīga mayor and ethnic Russian Nils Ušakovs added his name to the list of signatures, although he and other leaders of the center-left political party Harmony Centre (Saskaņas centrs) say they continue to back Latvian as the only state language.

“I personally and my party back the idea that in Latvia there is just one state language—Latvian—and as a pragmatic politician I understand that the referendum likely will not be successful,” Ušakovs wrote on the Harmony Centre website. However, Ušakovs said he signed in favor of the amendment to join with the hundreds of thousands of Latvian residents who wish to maintain their self-respect.

Some of Ušakovs’ opponents are now calling for the mayor to step down.

The proposed amendment would change five paragraphs in the constitution, giving Russian equal status to Latvian. The initiative was kicked off when the Russian-oriented “Dzimtā valoda” (Native Language) group submitted a petition to the election commission with 12,533 signatures asking for the constitutional amendment.

Under the constitution, the petition began a process that includes the initiative’s signature campaign running from Nov. 1-30. If enough voters sign on, the amendment will be presented to the Saeima for approval. If MPs were to change the proposed legislation or reject it, the issue would be decided by national referendum.

Of the 39 embassies and consulates where voters abroad can sign the initiative, 16 have seen activity so far, according to election commission data. Most active has been the Latvian embassy in Dublin, Ireland, where 37 had signed by Nov. 14. The embassy in London was next with 33 signatures, followed by the embassy in Moscow with 10.

A list of the locations abroad is available from the Central Election Commission’s website, www.cvk.lv.